Dodgers could use more pitching

Mark Saxon is a staff writer for ESPNLosAngeles.com. He spent six years at the Orange County Register, and began his career at the Oakland Tribune, where he started an 11-year journey covering Major League Baseball. He has also covered colleges, including USC football and UCLA basketball.

LOS ANGELES -- If you've found yourself underwhelmed by the names being bandied about in the early days of baseball's trading season, if Matt Garza and Ricky Nolasco and Joe Saunders don't get you fired up, consider Friday night instructive.

The Dodgers went into Friday with the eighth-best ERA in baseball, their starters with the fifth-best ERA. Those ranks are perhaps a bit disappointing given what they thought they had, but far from the reason they're stuck in last place.

But that doesn't figure to continue and neither, perhaps, does the good pitching. If you looked at the Dodgers' Nos. 2 through 6 hitters Friday night, you'd see the potential for one of the deepest, most dangerous lineups in baseball. It has begun to poke through in recent games.

Puig is sparking it, of course, but Kemp and Ethier have looked revitalized, Ramirez looks lethal and Adrian Gonzalez just keeps on trucking.

The Dodgers rank 27th in the majors in runs scored on June 28, but if they can keep their guys on the field (OK, use your imagination), they won't be ranked 27th on Aug. 28.

Capuano can be forgiven for an occasional clunker like Friday night's, in which he couldn't get out of the fourth inning and gave up seven runs and 10 hits. He had pitched well in his past two starts and five of his past six. Fife has been perfectly serviceable as a No. 5 starter. But the Dodgers' depth has been tested all year and their Triple-A options are not good.

The Dodgers, if they are in contention, will look to add one starter and one reliever between now and the July 31 trade deadline. Assuming the selling teams really are open for business, there's no time like the present.